Residents concerned with storm washout

During the Williamston Town Council meeting Monday, a resident of the Gatewood Subdivision, off Mill St. expressed concerns about a storm related washout at the Gatewood entrance. The damage occurred recently following heavy downpours resulting in backflow at the culverts where Big Creek flows under the road at the Gatewood entrance.

The hole in the road, which drops approximately 15-20 feet along the culvert down to the creekbed, is cordoned off with police tape and cones. The resident expressed concerns about the road, which is the only access to the subdivision, washing away.

“If that happens what is our plan? We don’t seem to have a secondary plan,” he said.

Mayor Mack Durham responded that the town and county have assessed it and the county is allocating funding for a temporary repair.

Durham said an engineer is looking at the project and they are planning to make a temporary repair with soft cement and then request C-fund money in October or November to make more comprehensive repairs.

According to the mayor there are waterway permitting issues and it will be an extensive project.

The resident said the 60 or so residents of the subdivision are concerned about the washout which currently is forcing traffic to use only one side of the road over the creek culvert.

They are also concerned about a tanker truck which uses the entrance to the subdivision to gain access to the sewer treatement plant which it is dumping leacheate from the Anderson Regional Landfill.

The tanker must cross the culvert just feet away from the washout. There were also complaints of the tanker blowing a horn and being in the vicinity late at night, he said..

The mayor assured him that the town, the county and an engineer are working on repairing the washout.

The town has a similar washout on Minor Street where a drain culvert from Town Square Center goes under the road and is deteriorating. There is about a 10-15 foot dropoff just off the shoulder of the road at that location.